Clemson @ Wake Forest preview

Clemson at Wake Forest

Last Meeting ( Feb 1, 2020 ) Clemson 44, Wake Forest 56

After having five games postponed this season due to COVID-19 issues, including its scheduled games last week at Notre Dame and Pittsburgh, Clemson is looking forward to playing anyone, anywhere, at any time.

Barring last-minute positive COVID-19 tests, that opportunity will come Wednesday afternoon at Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, N.C.

The Tigers practiced for the first time in six days on Saturday, and coach Brad Brownell said he is hopeful the Wake Forest game will proceed as scheduled.

"We are planning on it," Brownell said. "It's about us getting through things and make sure that we are OK health-wise, and we are able to give our guys a chance to be successful."

The Tigers have been more successful than not this season and could enhance their postseason prospects and Atlantic Coast Conference standing with a victory against the Demon Deacons.

Clemson is 13-5 overall and 7-5 in the ACC. After its game at Wake Forest, the Tigers will have two late-season games at home. Approximately 1,800 fans have been permitted for games this season at Littlejohn Coliseum, and the Tigers have rewarded them by going 9-1 there.

Clemson is led by Aamir Simms, who tops the team in scoring (13.3), rebounding (6.0) and assists (2.6). Simms is coming off a 25-point effort -- matching his career high -- in the Tigers' most recent game, a 74-72 win against Georgia Tech on Feb. 12.

The Tigers are riding a three-game winning streak, including victories against North Carolina and Syracuse, heading into Wednesday's game.

Wake Forest (6-11, 3-11), meanwhile, has lost three in a row since defeating Boston College on Feb. 10. The Deacons dropped a heartbreaker in overtime at Florida State on Feb. 13 but have been blown out by Duke and North Carolina State since.

"I think it's just great proof of you're either getting better or you're getting worse every day, right?" Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes said. "So, I really felt like -- and I wasn't shy in saying this -- I felt like on Monday and Tuesday in practice (last week), our players approached practice like we had kind of beaten Florida State and we hadn't.

"So I thought they were way too comfortable. Not the edge that they needed, and that's my job. I've got to change that, and so I tried and obviously didn't do a good job."

--Field Level Media